POWERS: A tough-looking model, Tritonious doesn’t offer the best Traits or Damage track, but is a good proposition in the right circumstances. His Traits are decent on the whole; they are just not as specialized as with some Level 1 Supremes. All of his Actions interact with the Water Skill, meaning he is best used against or better yet alongside Supremes and Minions (think BOOM here) with Water. His Team power works in fairly unique way to enhance his whole Team if faced with Water terrain – Water terrain is Tritonious’ friend.

TRITON’S STRIKE* offers two real benefits; firstly if Tritonious is going toe-to-toe with a Supreme, especially one prone to using Ranged Attacks, he can turn them to Water and becomes Immune to their ENERGY attack Actions! Secondly the Triton’s Strike* allows Tritonious to affect Spectral models, useful when Supremes like Ace of Wraiths, Sanguine (night) and Seabolt are proving elusive when using Spectral. Lastly don’t overlook that it does not count against the limit of combinable Actions, meaning a Charge* + Triton’s Strike* + Strike combo is perfectly permissible; and don’t forget to Power-Up or Trump Roll the Strike – especially if it is a rare opportunity to Strike against a Spectral model.

DEHYDRATE is an okay Ranged Combat Action at 2 AP, in the correct circumstances, with a bonus effect that will be rarely triggered against Supremes, due to lack of Trump Roll or Power-Up, and given that most Supremes are Incapacitated rather than Eliminated. However used against Minions (or even Citizens!) it allows Tritonious to litter the battlefield with more and more pockets of Water terrain, which in turn can boost his STRENGTH and ENERGY traits. Consider using Dehydrate on a Minion while within range of a different tempting Charge* target; Dehydrate costs 2 AP, while the Charge* + Strike (+ Triton’s Strike* if desired) will result in STRENGTH 5 +1 for Charge* plus any Trump Roll and/or Power-Up buffs, allowing a range of results from 7 to 15 – not bad for a Level 1 Supreme, and if using Triton’s Strike*, that STRENGTH boost can become self-sustaining.

TIDAL offers a couple of options. If Tritonious is working with models with the Water Skill (Seabolt; Francis Gator; BOOM Minions with Water skill!) it provides a potential massive movement boost (great for contesting or claiming objectives, as well as moving models from danger or bringing them to the area of desired conflict) for only a small AP outlay and no loss of Movement Actions. You can literally ‘flood’ an area with models (sorry for that pun…). Alternatively it also allows area and tactical denial if facing Water models: just aim them in an inconvenient direction – useful for example if Seabolt has Go With The Flow potentially lined up; or to get models away from Agenda Tokens, Agenda Areas or Agenda Buildings.

EBB FLOW* can be seen as primarily a defensive Action, providing Spectral to Water models. Extra useful if facing a Team reliant on STRENGTH Actions of course. A cheap tactic may be to build an army of BOOM Blaster Minions with the Water Skill to exploit this protection and march them where they are needed most. Alternatively, if an enemy in Base to Base has been affected by Triton’s Strike* in the current Round, then Ebb Flow means that they cannot effectively use STRENGTH or ENERGY Actions against Tritonious in the current Round.

TEAM POWER – CHILD OF THE NEPTUNE: This is basically a synergy buff for Tritonious, allowing him a boost from Water terrain or friendly Water models within close proximity, at the cost of not being able to work alongside Ulthar. In essence, try to maximize this by at least having Water allies if possible (BOOM is your friend here).

SKILLS: With only a handful of skills it looks like Tritonious is a little limited, but on closer inspection they are all pretty good. Hatred/Ulthar makes Tritonious a decent choice if you expect to face those dastardly aliens; Immune/Water is novel in that it offers broad protection without requiring Tritonious to be vulnerable to Fire. Finally Fury 1 means that Tritonious can have a chance in a stand-up fight, except where he is massively outclassed (and of course he can compensate if he is outclassed by using Triton’s Strike and Ebb Flow*; think about that option if facing the likes of Hellsmith, Giant Hadron, Apebot, Guerilla, Father Oak, Dr Mercury, Six Feet Under, Solar or other beat stick types that lack DEFENSE Trump).

RESOURCES: The usual suspects here are all worth consideration: First Aid Kit for added durability; Heroic Call (for example, use Battlefield Control to Activate Tritonious to use Tidal to position Seabolt for a run with Go With The Flow); Nature’s Boon can add a net +3 to Tritonious’ Opposed Rolls for a Round if used correctly (if you know the terrain will have a suitable feature); Path of Destiny can give a second chance on that Trumped, Powered-Up Strike just when needed.

WEAKNESSES: Tritonious’ biggest weakness is probably that he is a Level 1 Supreme – his Actions would really step-up in capability if he had the extra Damage, higher Trait scores and extra Trump Trait of a Level 2; by this I mean he looks impressive as a model, has decent Traits and Damage, yet players need to be cautious enough not to try to use him the same way they would a Level 2 Supreme. Another weakness is that to get the best out of him, Tritonious either needs to be used alongside Water models, on a Water terrain heavy battlefield, or in opposition to a number of Water Supremes. He can operate without these requirements, but is not likely to do so as efficiently as with them.

SYNERGIES:Seabolt and Francis Gator both offer excellent synergies – Tritonious gets a STRENGTH and ENERGY buff if a Water Supreme such as these is within 3 inches. The downside is that Tidal may be less desirable to use since those Supremes could be subject to moves that are not wholly satisfactory. BOOM Minions could be a cheap but effective way of offering that Team Power boost to Tritonious: use Blasters or Support Minions with Water and Target Acquired to really enhance Combat Actions, or use More Than Punching Bags and have them hang back to add to the AP Pool and maybe add to Tritonious’ Traits at the same time. In Team-building, both Dead Eye and Mysterious Man can make good use of Tritonious, so don’t overlook him when playing EL 12+ games with either.

Thursday, 23 September 2010

This latest 'welcome' goes to Kam Aronhalt, who has kindly added themselves as a Follower of the blog. I hope I can at least inform or entertain in some way, and reward that decision.

Just a reminder about the WAMP Pulp City painting contest I posted about in my last blog entry. There are only 4 entries so far, from 2 entrants (including me). The prizes are excellent, and the top prize includes a mini that is a pretty mind-boggling 120mm tall, which I can't wait to see.

Basically you have to be in it to win it, and since there are 10 prizes it can't hurt to give it a try if you have some painted Pulp City minis, or some you are working on.

The deadline for entries is 6pm 28th October 2010 (I guess 6pm UK time), and you can enter as many times as you like.

The WAMP is a nice little place that encourages miniatures painting in all sorts of genres and scales, and I have found it to be nothing but friendly so far. The folks behind the WAMP (led by Brett/Darklord) have also started publishing an e-zine called Portal, and in the second issue you can find the contest entry details.

I am hoping to use the contest both to kick on my personal Pulp City Painting Challenge, but also to finish a project I started ages ago (Sgt. Bale Extreme).

Monday, 20 September 2010

SetupThis Encounter pitted the forces of ARC (backed up by the mercenary Tangent) against an assortment of Heroes desperate to foil their plans. Both Teams have learned of a lost container of experimental isotopes that has been lost on the streets of Pulp City by a nefarious courier…Seize the Isotopes is a ‘Quest’ Plot Encounter, played without any Citizens or Agendas (simply for speed of play).

Apes & Monkeys & One Mercenary Human Gather!Rob wanted to go all-out with ARC, having ‘bagsyed’ Silverager; bagsy is like calling ‘shotgun’ but more British and gentle…

Rob chose:Chimp Chi (with San-En Ninjaken); Silverager (equipped with Personal Force Field); Howler (carrying a First Aid Kit); Virus (using the Glove); Apebot; and Tangent (carrying a Teleport Anchor). The Villainous ARC Team also had some Sentry Bot back-up, no doubt scrounged from somewhere, and they also knew of a stashed Weapons Crate in the field.

An Unusual Alliance of Heroes Responds!Leon selected a Team of two ‘sub-Teams’; 3 Supremes were from Heavy Metal, while the others were all unaligned Nature Supremes:Dr Mercury (carrying his latest research project – the Mercurial Matrix); Chronin; Androida; Solar (bearing Ahau-Kin’s Tiara); Jade Hawk (who had tuned in her Police Scanner); and Stoner Hawk. The Heroes were helped out by citizens turned Vigilantes, reporter on the scene June Summers, and Jade Hawk took advantage of the terrain on offer to Rooftop Vigilantes.

The Ecounter: Seize the Isotopes!

Supremes AdvanceBoth Factions had deployed their forces. Chimp Chi – Sneaky Git that he is – had sidled up behind an apartment block. Meanwhile, Jade Hawk took to the rooftops.

The rest of the Teams advanced, while Tangent lay in wait behind a brownstone. Dr Mercury activated his Mercurial Matrix, enhancing the abilities of his Team-mate Chronin, who folded time around herself and dashed forwards to claim the isotopes, constructing a Time Shield in the process and setting herself to Rewind the temporal flow if she needed to protect herself.

Apebot responded by Throwing a car at the brave heroine, but her Time Shield held fast. Stoner Hawk responded by erecting a wall of Stoneshapes around his ally Chronin.Howler Strafed unsuspecting Dr Mercury, Chimp Chi Eliminated a Vigilante, while other Heroes and Villains moved up and June Summers used her Streetsmarts while trying to get her story…

Rooftop VigilanteJade Hawk uses her Wires to cross from an apartment building to the nearby brownstone that Tangent had been hiding behind.

Supreme vs. SupremeChronin seized an opportunity to Act Fast, moving away from the looming threat of Apebot. At the first opportunity she created another Time Shield. Apebot took the chance to Throw another car, this time catching Chronin and Stoner Hawk, but both Heroes survived surprisingly unscathed. This allowed Stoner Hawk to take a retaliatory Strike against Virus, badly hurting the monkey. Tangent broke cover and unleashed her Geometry of Hurt, clipping Stoner Hawk, Solar and Chronin. Tuning in to her Police Scanner, Jade Hawk silently dropped from the brownstone behind Tangent before launching a Predator’s Charge to Strike Tangent from behind. Tangent fought back, finding Jade Hawk’s Weak Spot with her Precision shooting, only to later fall along with Virus to the Flaming Fists of Solar.Silverager sought to intervene, using Apecraft to repair Apebot, before Dr Mercury moved forwards, while Howler’s Gun Bravado clipped Dr Mercury, although Chronin again survived unhurt. Sentry Bots fired on Dr Mercury, further damaging his mercurial body. He responded by Charging and Striking down one of the automatons. The lone remaining Vigilante failed to land a Strike on the elusive Chimp Chi…

The Battle Rages OnChronin moved to cover behind a nearby van. Meanwhile, Chimp Chi harnessed his Kage Shibari to disengage from the lone Vigilante to Strike Androida with the added force of Speak No Evil. He would later Incapacitate the poor robotic Hero.At the same time the melee in the centre of the battlefield continued as Heroes attempted to halt the Villainous ARC: Stoner Hawk Smashed Apebot with a car; Apebot was able to Throw Stuff – hurling Stoner Hawk at Jade Hawk; Stoner Hawk sought Redemption by taking the brunt of the damage himself. Even Solar’s Sun strikes failed to have little impact against the exceptional Agility of those ARC Supremes within his range.

More blows were traded between the small group of Heroes and the remaining apes while June Summers again used her Streetsmarts to get her story…

Supremes FallSolar unleashes a Strike at Howler who retaliates with his Gun Bravado before being cut down by a Flurry of Strikes by the plucky Chronin who has temporarily abandoned her Burden – the isotopes – in order to help her allies. Silverager uses a Spinebreaker assault against Solar, before the raging ape falls to the Strike of Stoner Hawk.

More blows are exchanged before Stoner Hawk throws up another barrier of Stoneshapes. Chimp Chi soon falls to Dr Mercury and Apebot stands alone. He eventually Throws Stuff to take out as many Heroes as possible – Solar falls Incapacitated, while Stoner Hawk seeks Redemption and sacrifices himself that Jade Hawk may continue the good fight…

The PrizeFurther futile blows are traded, but all that achieved is that Apebot is delayed from his target – the isotope. Chronin again claims the prize and moves further away from the clash, knowing she and her fellow Heroes have won this day…

SummaryThe game resulted in an 8 to 0 AGP victory for me. Because we were pushed for time, we didn’t use Agendas, but something I would suggest is that Agendas are particularly useful for Encounters with only a single objective; that way the result is less binary and victory in the main Plot alone may not carry the day.

The last Quest we played saw a win for Rob, and that time he had taken the objective first – so it really does favour whoever seizes the initiative so to speak, which is another ‘tick’ in the Agendas box. Even though Rob won the Starting Roll for the first Round, having noted the advantage of seizing the objective he had last time out, I maximised my opportunity by using Dr Mercury’s Mercurial Matrix to boost Chronin who grabbed the objective and set all her defences ready, and added a Stoneshapes shield at the first opportunity. Therefore planning of combinations of Actions and effects is key to an Encounter plot like this one.

Another game I really enjoyed, and I am looking forwards to more and more, and hopefully more Battle Reports.

Sunday, 19 September 2010

It's time for another welcome; this one to the newest Follower of the blog - adebodt. I hope you like what you see and read here, and as ever all visitors please feel free to comment on anything you find on the Pulp Citizen.

Hopefully the latest Battle Report will be posted tomorrow - just have to place the captions on the pics and then we are good to go.

Thanks to anyone and everyone stopping by, and again thanks to adebodt for joining up.

I managed to get some more Pulp City gaming in on Thursday, and Rob and I took plenty of photographs to hopefully complement an upcoming Battle Report (see the image left for a sneak preview; Howler advances across the battle-wracked streets of Pulp City).

On another front I am very excited that the Pulp City Guide (rulebook) is nearing print publication, which will be very cool for avid fans like me.

Tuesday, 14 September 2010

Silverager is a skilled technician, self-taught rocket science genius and a very calm individual, always the voice of reason when Guerilla's ego flies.

BUT....

If you ever, ever step on his toes, he'll make sure those two extra arms are not wasting time as he will chase you down and present the ape fury in all its glory.

Finished this today, and I enjoyed painting it - quite a lot. Which is funny, because many of the models I have enjoyed painting most from the range belong to ARC, yet it isn't my favourite Sub-faction by any stretch; go figure that one out.

I actually started Silverager and Guerilla at the same time, blocking out areas of similar colour on the two, yet carried on with Silverager as I was caught by that ever elusive painting muse.

Silverager was sculpted by Jarek Smolka, who is probably one of the most prolific contributors to the sculpting Pulp City's Supremes, and no stranger to the ARC Team, having sculpted Apebot & Virus, and Chimp Chi amongst others.

In game terms Silverager is a close combat master who can get scarier (and less controlled) as he gets more enraged. He has a pretty devastating Action in Spinebreaker (Charge* with it, sacrifice a Strike to boost it, Power-Up and voila: a result of 12 to 19 is possible), and he also has an Action that repairs Mechanical models - very useful.

A voice whispers in the darkness….. “Armed robbery sounds like my kind of scene.” A dark figure leaps from the rooftop and into the shadows. The hunter has begun stalking its prey.

Okay, so it has been two weeks since I last posted a painted mini. This was the 51st completed mini of my Pulp City Painting Challenge, and Jade Hawk is one of the ones I enjoyed tackling the most. That enjoyment was and is tinged with some sadness, however.

This tremendous sculpt is from the hands of the extremely talented James van Schaik, and there is a sad story attached to it. Jade Hawk was a winning entry into one of the (fairly) regular Supreme Genesis contests, and its creator was Matt Randy, a Pulp City Herald and one of the guys that had been working to help develop the game towards its eventual upcoming edition. Matt took his own life earlier this year, and in doing so left a hole in a the gaming community where he had been before that.

He will be missed.

I'd like to quote the words of Maciej Żylewicz (quoted from the Pulp City Forum):

"I just can't sit here and do nothing, so I thought you may want to remember Matt the way he was: funny, totally dedicated guy.

I loved the Jade Hawk idea - mind I read the entries blind not to get distracted by the author's name. There was only one problem - Hawk was initially male and I wanted a female character to accompany my other favorite, Skyline.

Matt, like an expert lobbyist, dropped me an email saying: you know, we reinvent her gender!

We started working on Jade Hawk, and he had a clear vision. A couple of concepts were scraped, Matt labeled them "Jade Parrot" and "Jade Owl".
Finally, his concept got finished by Melvin and it ended up in James van Schaik's workshop. I was so happy to send the pics to Matt, he was sending me one "Where's the Jade Hawk?" email a week.

The last email I ever got and will get from Matt said:

She does look good. I can't wait to see her in pewter in my own hands.

Should have known something was bugging him because Matt I knew would send me a long list of likes and dislikes. Matt, I hope you really like her."

This latest 'welcome aboard' goes to two new followers of the blog: Dr. Willett's Workshop and attumen. Thanks for joining - I really appreciate it.

I am guessing both newcomers are hobbyists, and while I recognise that Pulp Citizen is very specific about its content - occupying a niche within a niche hobby - I really hope that anyone signing up or even just stopping by to have a look will find something of interest or of use to them.

In that vein, if anyone has any suggestions for more or less of what they would like to see, or different organisation of the blog, please feel free to comment.

As to what the Pulp Citizen has been up to lately? Well I finished painting Jade Hawk a few days ago, and then started work on Silverager and Guerilla (both big apes are members of ARC). Silverager is nearly finished (should be done today, distractions permitting. I have started work on another Iron Train; like Chronin, this makes it the third attempt to finish a specific model, again the stripping bath has been employed - so maybe eventually I will have two Iron Trains. I also have an Iron Train conversion in mind at some point - something for the distant future.

Saturday, 11 September 2010

Work continues on my Pulp City Painting Challenge. Today I have finished work on Jade Hawk, and I am fairly pleased with the results. I have also been readying Silverager and Guerilla (who I may try to tackle together, despite being bigger than most of the range), and doing bits of painting with two versions of Iron Train. Meantime, the Necro G.I.'s have had very little done with them, and my other Grimms have had main base colours only applied.

So in lieu of new Supremes and 'official' Minions, here is another BOOM entry - the Sludge Monster. This is a Black Hat figure I painted a couple of years ago and re based last year I think.

[Click on card image for larger version]

The basic Level 1 Minion (see right) is intended as an exceptionally tough/resilient Minion, so could be used to defend a location or as a 'speed bump', while the Level 2 version (not shown) has more Combat Actions capability.

Monday, 6 September 2010

I have mentioned Tommy Gun's work before, but he now has a handy sub-section of a website collecting his work together (link here).

It is all freely available, and makes great use or recognisable and not-so-recognisable images and textures. There is tons of stuff suitable for contemporary or near-contemporary gaming, as well as sci-fi.

I love looking at pictures of his work and cannot recommend enough to anyone to check it out.

The latest welcome goes out to Matt, who is a fellow comics fan. I enjoy his blog (it is the Untold Tales of the Teen Templars - here); it is an eclectic blog (which is something I like), covering his interests including comics, related media, and also RPG's etc. Well worth a look, and thanks for joining over here Matt.

Thursday, 2 September 2010

Regular or astute readers may recall that I 'threatened' to post this Battle Report some time ago, featuring a game between me and my main gaming buddy Rob (the man respobsible for the Four Colour Super Minis blog - here). It was an inglorious outing for me, but a great fun game nonetheless…

Heroes and Villains have gathered to battle once more on the streets of Pulp City – and this time their objective is simply to hold ground against their foes; the Heroes wish to protect against the predations of their criminal enemies, while the Villains seek to expand their power and influence. The victors would be those that dominated the battlefield and key locations…

The Villains gather, a motley crew gathered under threats and promises: Francis Gator of the Coven, the Forgotten demi-god Hellsmith (carrying his Hell Hammer), mercenary Gentleman (his Sniper Rifle stowed for now, Flash Grenades in his pockets), Sanguine (operating under cover of Night and accompanied by Draku) and Supreme Zed from the Necroplane, and ARC’s Howler (who was looking to pick up a stashed Weapons Crate). Alongside this disparate bunch of desperadoes were risen dead - Zombies; Hired Guns; and a Supreme wannabe named Strong Arm…

Meanwhile, the Heroes also organize themselves: Sgt. Bale (carrying an Astral Rose) and Six Feet Under from the Blood Watch, Nuclear Jones and Androida from Heavy Metal, lone operator Harrier (equipped with a First Aid Kit), and from the Otherside, Kitty Cheshire. The Heroes were supported by Sentry Bots and street-wise Vigilantes, and they would try to make use of the terrain using Manholes while drawing on a Heroic Call when needed most.

The Villains were soon in for a surprise as Six Feet Under morphed into the form of Dr. Mercury, carrying his Mercurial Matrix to aid his Heavy Metal allies in the conflict…

Both forces begin their opening moves, trying to gain territorial and tactical superiority. Howler, Gentleman and the Hired Guns move around the stock yards attached to the warehouse...

Meanwhile, opening salvos are launched as Sgt. Bale aims an unsuccessful Balefire at Supreme Zed. The undead Supreme retaliates by hurling a mail box at Sgt. Bale, injuring him. The Heroes and Villains on each side press on…

The battle begins in earnest, and mayhem ensues. Hellsmith throws a car at Dr. Mercury. Francis Gator tries to emulate his more impressive ally and hurls a mail box at Nuclear Jones after the Heavy Metal Hero has activated his Nuclear Leak to keep the Villains from occupying territory. Subsequently Nuclear Jones is in the thick of the action, first charged by Hellsmith and later launching a Nuclear Missile attack at Francis Gator, but the Coven strike team member proved to durable for that to have much effect.

All the while, both sides try to press their foes…

The big beat-down! Heroes versus Villains, fighting for control of this part of Pulp City. Supreme Zed Pummels a Vigilante. Dr. Mercury takes advantage of this to strike Supreme Zed. Sgt. Bale joins in, wreathing his fists in flame using his Flame Coil to strike the Necroplane monster. The Vigilantes battle on against both Supreme Zed and the Minion known as Strong Arm.

Meanwhile, Gentleman Snipes at Harrier, while his temporary ally Howler breaks cover to Strafe at Kitty Cheshire, using the Dum-dum Bullets he recovered earlier from the Weapons Crate, Incapacitating the otherworldly being.

Harrier decides that decisive action is needed, and so she flies Up, Up and Away and then performs a Fly By against Francis Gator injuring him, as well as Strong Arm, and a Zombie, Eliminating the undead Minion. Francis Gator takes bloody revenge however, using his Sharp Teeth against the doughty Hero. Their battle persists, and Francis Gator eventually gains the upper hand, although Sgt. Bale uses the Astral Rose to heal his ally. After Harrier finally falls, Francis Gator decides to cook up a Bloody Gumbo feast. Seeing one of her allies fall, Androida tries to move herself at Lightning Fast speed to a position where she can help her allies better achieve their goal.

Elsewhere, Supreme Zed Incapacitates Sgt. Bale, and later Pummels the two Vigilantes into submission, Eliminating them. All the while Nuclear Jones has fallen and things don’t look good for the Heroes…

Androida goes on the Run, moving at Lightning Fast velocity, all the while Dr. Mercury Melds into the environment to try a stage a hit and run fight back. He too eventually falls, Incapacitated finally by Francis Gator…

Meanwhile, Sanguine emerges from the cover of darkness where he has he has hidden away, using his Tactical Genius to guide the Villain’s strategy. He joins with the mighty Supreme Zed to claim some of the territory they sought from the start…

The smoke begins to clear, and as dawn threatens, the Heroes are scattered and the Villains have won. Evil is victorious this day. More Heroes will need to rise to face this growing threat…

Despite losing very heavily (11 to 0 in AGP - Agenda Points – in Rob’s favour), I really enjoyed this game. I like Pulp City because it is fast, furious and fun, and even in a ‘short‘ day of gaming we can usually manage a couple of games (obviously this one took longer with photographing and taking notes etc.). And of course, despite the loss, there is always next time…